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Navy Midshipmen Seek Victory Over Oklahoma in Armed Forces Bowl

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Navy Midshipmen Seek Victory Over Oklahoma in Armed Forces Bowl


Navy won its rivalry game with Army West Point, but there’s one more game left on the schedule and one more shot at some history for the Midshipmen.

Navy is preparing to face Oklahoma in the Armed Forces Bowl on Friday, their first appearance in a bowl game under second-year head coach Brian Newberry. Kickoff is set for noon eastern.

If the Midshipmen (9-3) are able to beat the Sooners (6-6), it would mark the sixth time in school history that they won at least 10 games in a season, joining the teams from 1905 (10-1-1), 2004 (10-2), 2009 (10-4), 2015 (11-2) and 2019 (11-2).

Navy needs to put its blowout win over Army out of its minds. The Sooners, while not the OU that most are used to, will still be a formidable opponent. But there will be change under center after the transfer of quarterback Jackson Arnold.

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No such issues with Navy quarterback Blake Horvath, as he looks to cap off the season with an incredible performance in the postseason.

Here is a preview of the game.

Armed Forces Bowl

Amon G. Carter Stadium, Fort Worth, Texas

Time: noon, ET, Friday

TV: ESPN

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Radio: WBAL 1090 AM / 101.5 FM (flagship), Navy Football Radio Network.

Coaches: Navy: Brian Newberry (14-10 at Navy, overall); Oklahoma: Brent Venables (22-16 at Oklahoma, overall).

Fun fact: Newberry played high school football at WestMoore High School in Oklahoma City, about an hour and a half away from Oklahoma’s campus in Norman.    

All-Times Series: Navy leads series, 1-0.

Last meeting: Navy 10, Oklahoma 0 (1965 in Norman, Okla.).

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Series notes: This is Navy’s first bowl game against OU, but not its first bowl game against an SEC school. The Midshipmen played Ole Miss in the 1955 Sugar Bowl. Navy has played Missouri and Texas, but neither was in the SEC at the time.

Last Week: Navy def. Army, 31-13 (Dec. 14); Oklahoma lost to LSU, 37-13 (Nov. 30).

About Navy: Navy’s win over Army allowed the Midshipmen to claim the Commander in Chief’s trophy and you can’t doubt the accomplishment. Navy won the two service academy games by a combined 45 points. That’s just domination.

Last week, Midshipmen defensive back Rayuan Lane III accepted an invitation to the Senior Bowl, just the fifth Navy player to accomplish that feat. He’ll play in this game and then take his shot at getting drafted into the NFL.

Along with chasing 10 wins, Horvath is chasing the single-season touchdown pass record at Navy. He’s tied it with 13, putting him in the company of Ricky Dobbs. He tossed two touchdowns against Army.

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About Oklahoma: Even though OU only finished .500, this game marks a rare chance for Navy to measure itself against one of the game’s historic programs.

Oklahoma is the sixth-winningest program in FBS history with 950 wins and is playing in a bowl game for the 26th straight season, with a record of 31-25-1. OU’s 58 bowl appearances are the fourth-most in FBS.

The first year in the SEC was a gauntlet for the Sooners, who faced eight ranked opponents during the season. But, their win over No. 7 Alabama probably robbed the Crimson Tide of a chance to play in the College Football Playoff.

Next Up: The season concludes for both teams.  



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Oklahoma Ford Sports Blitz: Mar. 1, 2026

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Oklahoma Ford Sports Blitz: Mar. 1, 2026


Big night in downtown OKC as the Oklahoma City Thunder welcome the Denver Nugget and Shai Gilgeous-Alexander is back on the floor.

Steve McGehee reports live from Paycom Center with the latest on SGA’s return after missing nine games, the Thunder’s push to hold the top spot in the Western Conference, and what getting healthy means for OKC’s title hopes.





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How Oklahoma GM Jim Nagy ‘Put More Around’ John Mateer During Offseason

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How Oklahoma GM Jim Nagy ‘Put More Around’ John Mateer During Offseason


Oklahoma general manager Jim Nagy experienced great success during his first year in Norman.

Nagy, who joined OU’s staff in February 2025, oversaw the Sooners’ scouting staff as Oklahoma reached the College Football Playoff for the first time since 2019. He also helped OU sign a top-15 2026 recruiting class and land several key transfer portal players after the 2025 season.

Though the wins outweighed the losses in Nagy’s first year, the Sooners’ general manager knew that there was much to fortify during the offseason.

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Oklahoma’s offense sputtered late in the season, as the Sooners scored fewer than 25 points in each of their last four games.

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For Nagy, a major focus was surrounding OU quarterback John Mateer with quality talent.

“(We wanted to) just really put more around John Mateer,” Nagy said on The Dari Nowkhah Show on KREF on Friday.

Nagy and his scouting team added plenty of pieces from the portal that should elevate Oklahoma’s offense.

The Sooners signed three portal wideouts — Trell Harris (Virginia), Parker Livingstone (Texas) and Mackenzie Alleyne (Washington State) — after the 2025 season to join returning receivers Isaiah Sategna, Jer’Michael Carter and Jacob Jordan.

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Sategna, who transferred to OU from Arkansas after the 2024 season, served as Mateer’s safety net in 2025. The receiver finished the year with 965 yards and eight touchdowns on 67 catches.

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Harris and Livingstone are both proven producers at the Power Four level, and Nagy believes that those two will make OU’s receiving corps stronger in 2026.

“Those two, we’re very excited about both of those guys,” Nagy said.

Nagy also did plenty of work to ensure that OU’s run game improves in 2026.

The Sooners added three tight ends — Hayden Hansen (Florida), Rocky Beers (Colorado State) and Jack Van Dorselaer (Tennessee) — from the portal. They also added three transfer offensive linemen: Caleb Nitta (Western Kentucky), E’Marion Harris (Arkansas) and Peyton Joseph (Georgia Tech).

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OU will have its two top running backs from the 2025 squad, Xavier Robinson and Tory Blaylock, back in 2026.

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For those two to reach their full potential, the Sooners’ blockers will have to regularly open up running lanes — and Nagy is confident that they will.

“We have to run the ball better, there’s no way around that,” Nagy said. “Our job is to create more competition in every room in the offseason. I feel like we’ve done that.”

On the show, Nagy revealed that the Sooners added nearly 9,000 collegiate snaps to their roster during the offseason. 

The general manager believes that both sides of the ball will be stronger as a result of his scouting team’s offseason efforts and their collaboration with OU’s coaching staff.

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“I’ve tried to be really intentional with our communication,” Nagy said. “There’s a common goal: We’re trying to win a national championship. This is a true partnership, and we all have the same goal in mind. It’s going to continue to evolve and get better.”

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Oklahoma will open its 2026 season against UTEP on Sept. 5.



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Elgin’s Ritson Meyer becomes four-time Oklahoma high school wrestling state champion

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Elgin’s Ritson Meyer becomes four-time Oklahoma high school wrestling state champion


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The loss was on Ritson Meyer’s mind all week as he prepared for his final state wrestling tournament. 

A senior 215-pounder at Elgin, Meyer isn’t used to getting beaten, but he got a wake-up call when he lost against Coweta senior Aiven Robbins by five points in their regional championship match. 

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For Meyer, it set in that winning his fourth state championship wouldn’t be an easy task. 

“I lost to him last week and I’m not a loser, so it was eating on me all week in practice,” Meyer said. “So (in) practice, I really leveled up everything. Everything about it.” 

Meyer and Robbins met again on Saturday, this time with the Class 5A state championship on the line. 

Intensely focused from the start, Meyer came out aggressive. And although it was another great match, Meyer did just enough to etch his name in the state history books. 

Meyer held on to beat Robbins in an 8-7 decision in the new OG&E Coliseum as he claimed his fourth state championship, while Coweta won the team title. 

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An Abilene Christian football signee, Meyer’s wrestling days are over, but he leaves the sport with satisfaction. 

“I came out here — even though it hurt, even though I was tired — I got it done,” Meyer said. “I’m so happy. I got to celebrate with my parents, my family, my friends. It’s a crazy feeling.” 

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A standout running back and linebacker on the gridiron, Meyer helped his team win the Class 4A state title in football as a junior before Elgin lost to Tuttle 23-20 in the 2025 championship game in December. 

It’s a different sport, but that loss fueled Meyer’s wrestling season in a way. 

“I like to tell people that wrestling is like offseason football,” Meyer said. “I can’t go out, lose. Everybody wanted me to win this. I won it for the whole entire community. First four-timer at Elgin. And that football (loss) really did eat me alive. It didn’t feel good at all, and I didn’t want that same feeling again.” 

Meyer had a great start against Robbins on Saturday and never trailed, but Robbins battled to set up a great finish and both were gassed when it was over. 

“I just gave it my all,” Meyer said, “and I got it done.” 

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This article will be updated.

Nick Sardis covers high school sports for The Oklahoman. Have a story idea for Nick? He can be reached at nsardis@oklahoman.com or on Twitter at@nicksardis. Sign up forThe Varsity Club newsletter to access more high school coverage. Support Nick’s work and that of other Oklahoman journalists by purchasing adigital subscription today at subscribe.oklahoman.com.





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